The Head of Retirement Platform is responsible for leading and developing the organisation’s retirement platform functionality, overseeing the transition to a new in‑house administration capability, and driving the successful implementation and conversion to the new administration system. This role serves as the primary liaison with third‑party vendors, technology partners, and regulatory bodies, ensuring full compliance, operational excellence, and strategic alignment with the business’s broader retirement and employee benefits objectives
Hello,Future Employee Benefits Administration Head
As part of our Employee Benefits leadership team, reporting to the Executive Head, you will work alongside experienced professionals in an environment that values innovation, operational excellence, and client-centricity. This is a unique opportunity to build and lead a future-fit administration capability while driving the transformation of our retirement and employee benefits administration platform.
The Employee Benefits Administration Head is a critical leadership roleand willberesponsible forestablishingand leading the organisation's administration function, overseeing the implementation of a new administration platform, and ensuring best-in-class service delivery, governance, and compliance. This role serves as the primary liaison between the business, technology partners, service providers, and regulators, ensuring a scalable and sustainable operating model that delivers exceptional member and employer experiences.
Purpose of the Role
The role sits at the intersection of Operations, Transformation, Technology, and Governance, ensuring the administration function is efficient, compliant, scalable, and aligned to strategic businessobjectives The successful candidate will lead the transition to an in-house administration capability, oversee the implementation and migration to a new administration platform, and drive operational excellence through innovation, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
Key Responsibilities
Administration Strategy & Leadership
Lead the development of a scalable in-house Employee Benefits administration capability aligned to business strategy.
Build and develop a high-performing team while fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and client excellence.
Platform Transformation & Delivery
Lead the implementation and migration to a new administration platform, ensuring successful planning, testing, data conversion, and operational readiness.
Drive continuous improvement through process optimisation, automation, and technology enablement.
Operational Excellence
Establish best-practice administration processes, controls, service levels, and performance standards.
Enhance efficiency, service quality, and member experience through data-driven decision-making and workflow optimisation.
Risk, Governance & Compliance
Ensure compliance with retirement fund legislation, regulatory requirements, and governance standards.
Maintain effective risk management frameworks, internal controls, and regulatory reporting.
Stakeholder & Vendor Management
Manage relationships with administrators, technology partners, consultants, and regulators.
Ensure service providers deliver against agreed standards and support strategic businessobjectives
Data & Performance Management
Implement performance metrics, reporting frameworks, and operational dashboards.
Leverage analytics and AI-enabled solutions to improve business outcomes, member experience, and service delivery.
You will be an ideal candidate if you:
Hold a relevantbachelor’s degree in commerce, Finance, Business Management, Employee Benefits, Actuarial Science, or a related field.
Have a postgraduate qualification (advantageous).
Bringsignificant experiencein retirement fund administration, employee benefits administration, or related financial services operations.
Have proven experience leading large-scale operational transformation, administration migrations, or systems implementation programmes.
Possess strong leadership and people management capabilities.
Demonstrate deep knowledge of retirement fund legislation, governance, and compliance requirements.
Have strong stakeholder, project, and vendor management experience.
Are experienced in operational excellence, process optimisation, and service delivery management.
We can be a match if you are:
A strategic and commercially minded leader.
Passionate about building scalable operational capabilities.
Customer and client-centric in your approach.
Highly analytical anddata driven
Influential and collaborative across diverse stakeholder groups.
Skilled at leading change and navigating complexity.
Committed to innovation, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
Resilient, adaptable, and driven to deliver measurable business outcomes.
Apply now
If you are passionate about transforming employee benefits administration, leading high-performing teams, and delivering exceptional member outcomes through innovation and operational excellence,we'dlike to hear from you
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Take note that applications will not be accepted on the below date and onwards, kindly submit applications ahead of the closing date indicated below.
30/07/26
All appointments will be made in line with FirstRand Group’s Employment Equity plan. The Bank supports the recruitment and advancement of individuals with disabilities. In order for us to fulfill this purpose, candidates can disclose their disability information on a voluntary basis. The Bank will keep this information confidential unless we are required by law to disclose this information to other parties.
The FirstRand Corporate Centre houses many of the critical functions required by a large and complex financial services group. The Corporate Centre’s stakeholders are external, such as regulators, shareholders, global developmental institutions and government; and also internal, mainly the market-leading businesses that service the group’s customers. These critical functions cover risk, compliance, governance, internal audit, treasury, finance and tax amongst many others. They require deep specialist and technical skills and ultimately represent the custodianship of the FirstRand group’s licence to operate.
Employees of the Corporate Centre develop a very unique perspective of the group because nowhere else can you own or be part of a mandate that operates across the portfolio. This allows for both big picture thinking and operational learning. It is also a great place to drive collaboration and a place to have a significant impact.
The Corporate Centre has adopted a blended approach to working, with a focus on balancing remote working and connections with colleagues in the workplace. Face-to-face interactions remain important to its way of working as these connections protect the business’s social capital, which is key to ensuring that FirstRand’s unique culture stays alive and continues to thrive.
